Category: Facebook

Chryselle D’Silva Dias, a freelance writer for publications such as Time, The Atlantic, BBC, Marie Claire India and the Guardian, to name a few, admits to being an early technology adopter, and that includes social media. What’s she’s found, by following the right people and publications, is that Twitter and Facebook are full of job opportunities. “In recent months, the bulk of my new work has come from Facebook groups for writers. From Twitter, I have found a few calls for pitches and story ideas, which is always useful.”

Though Dias, 42, has a very specific kind of work she does from her home base of Goa, India, her method for getting gigs can apply to nearly anyone, anywhere, in any industry.

Using the right tools

Dias uses Tweetdeck to manage her Twitter account. Other platforms for organizing the influx of information include Hootsuite and Social Oomph. “Many people find Twitter overwhelming because it appears as one constant stream of news and comments and responses from other people. An app like Tweetdeck helps you break your feed into smaller, manageable chunks.” You can set up a list or that shows you only tweets from specific people, or that mention a word or phrase. Dias, for example, has her feed organized so she can readily see tweets for editors, feminist writers and jobs. She also tracks search terms such as “is hiring writers” and “call for pitches.” So if you’re in the hotel industry for example, you might look for tweets that mention “hospitality” and “hiring” and follow hotel chains that interest you.

Understanding the etiquette

Dias likens Twitter to being at a party, where you know some people, but not everyone. “You should be friendly, polite and not push (only) your work constantly. Be curious about other people, their work and what they’re discussing. Jump in if you have something to say and not because you want them to notice you.” She says that over time, followers will come to understand your voice and the kinds of things you post.

And, like in any other medium—snail mail or real life—follow the instructions. If you’re asked to reply via a link to a website, do exactly that—don’t just reply with a Facebook message linking to your resume, and don’t worry too much if you feel ignored. “Don’t take things personally – the people behind the account probably have a lot to handle (they’re likely to be inundated, it is a call for work) and they might not respond to you or respond in a way that you’re not happy about.”

Kevin Mueller was in his last semester at Miami University in Ohio and he hadn’t yet landed a post-graduation job. So he jumped when his marketing professor posted a status update with a link to a job opening at Launchsquad, a PR firm in San Francisco. Mueller, 22, responded to the post, which led him to connect with Miami University alumna Kristen Hay, a senior account executive at Launchsquad, who hired him.

All of our job searches should be so easy. But as social networking matures, stories like Mueller’s are increasingly common. Still, until I saw a new survey from a company called Jobvite , I thought most job seekers were using LinkedInLNKD-6.39%, not Facebook, to find work. But according to the survey, 83% of people looking for a job say they use Facebook in their social media search, compared to 36% who use LinkedIn which, to my surprise, is the most infrequently used site among job seekers. Some 40% use Twitter and 37% use GoogleGOOG+0.19%+. Jobvite also surveyed recruiters, 94% of whom use LinkedIn, while 65% use Facebook, 55% use Twitter and 18% use Google+.Jobvite cares about such numbers because it sells software that enables companies to identify and source job candidates through their employees’ social networks. To compile the survey, Jobvite ran an online poll of 2,000 people in mid December.I was struck by the Facebook stats and I realized that while I’ve written a half dozen articles about using LinkedIn to find a job, I have never focused on Facebook as a job search tool. At 1.23 billion users, Facebook is nearly five times the size of LinkedIn, which has 259 million members. For that reason alone, job seekers should tap Facebook’s professional networking power. For advice on how best to do that, I turned to Dan Finnigan, 51, the CEO of eight-year-old Jobvite. Finnigan helped me hone these four ways that you can use Facebook to find a job.

Yes the words work and Facebook do sound like a contradiction in term; some offices have even banned Facebook for being the ultimate time waste application (back to Solitaire everyone). During the last few years we have learned how one can easily get fired by using Facebook, all you have to do is update your status with how much you loathe your boss or publicly post pictures from last weekend’s shenanigans portraying you slightly worse for wear. Let me now pose a much more intriguing question; is it possible to land a job using Facebook? Surely not you say, let’s investigate I say.Stats first; we are looking at 300 million active users on Facebook (about the population of the United States). Facebook is ranked the 2nd most popular Internet site by Alexa, just behind Google. The users on Facebook spend 20 minutes per day on the site, whereas the average for any website is roughly 10 seconds. So we know there are shed loads of people on Facebook, it’s very popular and users tend to spend a lot of time on the site.Now let’s crack on with the 5 ways to use Facebook to get hired:

1. Networking

With the stats fresh in mind, we can assume that most of your colleagues and business partners will be on Facebook. Furthermore, we can assume that recruiters and prospective new employers (hiring mangers, HR people) will be on Facebook. This gives you a unique opportunity to network yourself to whoever is hiring at the moment.Everyone expects to get contacted via Twitter but Facebook is not a professional network, and therefore you contacting somebody professionally could actually help you stand out from the crowd. I know sales people that use Facebook exactly this way as they can get through, whereas Linkedin ships hundreds of messages every week to buyers. As long as you tread carefully, this tactic will work.Let’s say you identify a company that is recruiting, now find out who the hiring manager is. Then check for friends or friends of friends in common, in order to get referred to people working for the company or even the hiring manager direct. Contact this person with your best spiel and take it from there.

2. Status Updates

The most obvious way to use Facebook for a job hunt is to update your status with your current situation and what you are looking for. Friends, family, old colleagues, long-time-no-speak acquaintances are all there to help you. People want to help others, it’s in human nature. You will be delighted at how much support and help you’ll get. Bear in mind that another human trait is forgetting, so you best keep updating your network and giving them the latest on your job hunt and thus staying in the forefront of their minds.

3. Facebook marketplace

Craigslist, Gumtree and other online marketplaces are simple tools that can be very useful for your job hunt. Have you tried Facebook marketplace? Have a look through your local marketplace for job listings, you will be able to see a description and also who posted the job. You can now either apply or contact the person behind the position for more information. Facebook’s marketplace may not be as comprehensive as other marketplaces but that can benefit you as there is likely to be less competition for any roles posted there.Ways 4,5, and the complete UnderCover Recruiter article

Lee Hecht Harrison research on hiring trends reveals that recruiters and hiring managers have found the effectiveness of social media in sourcing qualified candidates has increased 51% over the past two to three years, and they expect effectiveness to jump another 68% over the next two to three years.While LinkedIn is still the overwhelming favorite of HR managers and recruiters, Facebook is increasing in importance as an effective recruiting tool. Our research indicates that currently 16% of recruiters and 14% of HR managers are regularly using Facebook to source both passive and active job candidates – and it’s increasing. If you’re limiting your Facebook activity to friends and family, you might want to consider expanding activity to include professional connections – and possibly uncovering job opportunities.Here’s how to maximize your search success on Facebook:

Target your targets. Follow your target companies to uncover job openings and stay current on new company products, services, initiatives and acquisitions.

Follow the leaders. Follow pages from career-related organizations (such as LHH on Facebook) to have real-time access to employment trends and information.

Work smart. Follow search- and career-related sites such as Monster’s BeKnown and Glassdoor (voted the Best Employment Site of 2012).

Connect. Use the Facebook search feature to connect with people in your field or to join groups with a common interest.

For most, Facebook can be a real time waster—one minute you’re browsing your friend’s photos from Costa Rica, the next thing you know an hour and a half has gone by and you’ve wound up watching the latest viral “Call Me Maybe” parody someone posted from YouTube. Oh, and apparently 88 percent of Facebook users spend a good amount of time stalking an ex, according to a recent Western University study.

While Facebook is undeniably fun (and a little addictive) for personal use, it’s also a great job-search tool. After all, it’s the world’s largest social network and contains untapped resources for professional use as well. It’s all about how you use it.

Here are six steps to leveraging Facebook to land a job:

1. Create a separate professional account. Although Facebook offers lists and customizable privacy controls, the best way to make sure that no unnecessary personal information slips through the cracks is to create a new professional profile dedicated to your job search.

Make sure you use the same professional photo as your LinkedIn account to create a more consistent, memorable presence online. After all, the first thing hiring managers and recruiters do is probe the Web to see if they can find dirt on you. Keep your personal profile off the grid and make your professional profile completely public.

2. Download job search apps. Now that you have a separate account, you can freely take advantage of Facebook job-searching applications without worrying about using your personal account to login. Some popular job-searching apps include “Marketplace,” “BranchOut,” and “BeKnown.” Each of these has a solid following and job listings. You can find them simply by searching the name in your Facebook search bar.

3. Join groups in your area. For instance, for those interested in the business field, groups like Entrepreneurs and Professionals Network, Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs, and Entrepreneur Magazine all have a solid following, filling the feed with industry news, links to free webinars, and other resources. For someone interested in landing a job in the healthcare industry, HCareers is a great, insightful group. Google your industry along with the term “Facebook groups” to see what’s out there for you.

Jobvite is the full-time gig, and they’re nice enough to let me blog. I talk all the time to recruiters and how they recruit. One of the most recent topics was Facebook, and how it’s a great platform for building out your network to find great jobs. Here’s the repost.

Facebook isn’t just a place for friends anymore.

Job seekers are using this social network to look past personal photos and friends’ status updates for their next big opportunity. Jobvite research shows that over 44 percent of all job seeking activity is happening on Facebook, and that much of the conversation is happening with trusted friends on the network.

These are active job seekers connecting on Facebook, because they see it as one more channel. However, as a recruiter, you have to approach it much differently than Twitter, and it requires users to be more active than other social networks. But it’s not hard, as the Super Socials are finding out.

Here’s how to improve your Facebook to find your next great gig.

Complete Your Profile.

Your chances of finding a job go up significantly when companies know what you do. Fill out your Facebook profile using the information from LinkedIn. For more tips about LinkedIn social profiles, read How to Build a Great Profile on LinkedIn. Every single tip is also relevant for Facebook.

Jobvite and other companies have built Facebook applications tailored for career searches.The application matches your profile information to jobs in their networks, and this allows the tools to better target job seekers and for job seekers to better target companies. Think of it like search engine optimization for your profile: the more relevant the information like using keywords that would match job descriptions, the better your profile matches.

Facebook also targets advertising based on where people have worked and their job titles.Employers can target location, educational background, age range and other demographics to reach candidates. Jobvite is one of the many platforms that can track candidate applications from Facebook, further showing that the platform is a valid place to reach future employees.

It works.

One of the senior product managers here at Jobvite, Lucinda Foss, had filled out her profile and Jobvite used Facebook’s advertising platform to target Product Managers from certain industries. She clicked, applied, and now she’s the lead on several projects here at Jobvite.

Follow Companies You Want to Work At.

Great companies that understand social networks are a great place to find employees — all you have to do it search.

Over 80 percent of employers use social media to find candidates, which means they’re looking for you. And it’s a really easy two-step process: search for companies you want to work at and like their Facebook Fan pages. Once your “Like” is registered, you receive news about the company directly in your news stream.

One of the companies that does it best isYelp! On its Facebook Fan page they have a Work With Us icon that links directly to its job listings, searchable by region and job title. Through Facebook, you are just a couple of clicks away from applying.

Yelp! does a great job of showcasing their company culture through Facebook with their “Day in the Life” series. They profile employees at all levels of the company and what they do in a typical day so people can get an idea what the company culture is like. These posts are featured directly on the fan page and will arrive in your newsfeed.